


The Merlin Jim Deserves

by HadesGhostGirl



Category: Merlin (TV), Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Canon divergent from p3e8, Draal gets saved, Jim deserves better, fair warning I haven't seen Merlin in years
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 07:56:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18616423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HadesGhostGirl/pseuds/HadesGhostGirl
Summary: How would the story change if Merlin was BBC's Merlin.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alright fuckos you're in for a ride today as this is my first foray into fanfiction in a long ass time.

Merlin's tomb was filled with long abandoned cobwebs and Jim thought things would be danker. He thought that there might be a coffin or some kind of covering over the sorcerer. He thought Merlin might have had the staff of Avalon with him rather than on some strange crystal dais. But there it had been and here lay the great sorcerer himself. Not in a coffin or sarcophagus or anything.  
Jim coughed and batted away some of the cobwebs.  
"Woah," Toby gasped. "Is that-?"  
"It is indeed," Blinky explained.  
"Merlin," Aaarrrgghh grunted.  
"I thought he'd be older," Jim said, tilting his head and pulling out the blue stone from inside his amulet. "I mean he is older, obviously. But I thought he'd look older."  
"He doesn't look much older than us," Claire agreed, spinning her staff and trying to make a portal. "It's still not working."  
Toby started suggesting nonsense ways they could try and get out but Jim wasn't paying attention. He was walking towards Merlin holding the stone carefully in front of him with both hands.  
The blue light lit the wizards dark hair the same way Jim imagined it was lighting his own black hair. As Jim got closer he felt something shift in the air.  
Merlin sat up. He gasped for air. "Clotpole!" Exclaimed the wizard.  
"What?" Jim asked, raising an eyebrow.  
The sorcerer turned still sat on the dais. "You must be Jim!" Merlin grinned wide. "I had assumed you would be older but that's fine. Has anyone got my staff?"  
"Er the big green one?" Toby asked.  
"No the small wooden one," Merlin said, waving his hand at Toby. "It's got a blue gem in it, about the same colour as the amulet of-" That was when Merlin noticed what Jim was holding. "You broke it?"  
"Er," Jim didn't quite know what to make of this hyperactive man before him. "To get the map."  
"Arthur should never have given me the idea to put a map to this place inside it," Merlin grumbled. "That cabbagehead."  
"Did Merlin just say cabbagehead?" Jim heard Claire whisper.  
"I believe he did, yes," Blinky whispered back.  
Jim ignored his friends. "Can you fix it?" He asked, holding at the stone from his amulet.  
"Yes but first I need my staff," Merlin said, as he started to cast about for the staff in question. "It has it's own store of magic and at thd moment I am rather powerless."  
"Here," said Aaarrrgghh, holding up a stick.  
"Thank you," Merlin said, walking towards the troll and stumbling over his own feet. "Now Jim, put the amulet down on the table."  
Jim did as asked, though he did question whether he should trust this clumsy man with it.  
In a language so ancient even Blinky struggled to understand it, the wizard began to chant. His blue eyes flashed gold and the blue gem in the staff glowed. The pieces of the amulet clicked themselves back into place. Once completed, it landed back on the dais with a clink. Merlin picked it up to examine it. "A little damaged, but this should do you nicely Jim," he said, handing the amulet back to the boy. "Don't be such a prat and bear it again."  
Jim nodded and took the amulet back carefully.


	2. History lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin shows them the battle of Killahead.

"Mr Merlin sir," Toby said waving his hands about. "The cave outside is collapsing."  
"That's a problem," Merlin replied. "Won't be long before this cave starts collapsing soon as well."  
"Weren't you dead?" Claire asked. "Sorry, didn't mean to say that out loud."  
"I'll explain once we aren't trapped in a collapsing cave," Merlin told her. "For now, Jim."  
"What?" The boy said, looking away from his scratched amulet.  
"I believe you have the only means to out escape." The sorcerer pointed st the amulet.   
"How am I supposed to use a sword to stop a cave in?" Jim asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"Daylight is more than a sword," Merlin explained, patiently. This boy reminded him so much of himself when he first arrived in Camelot. Answering Jim's questions made him promise to apologise to Gaius if he ever met his mentors reincarnation again. "Arthur was very upset with me when I created it and it wasn't his. He had excalibur, a weapon almost equal to Daylight. But I wax actually referring to your shield."  
"My shield?"  
"Quickly," Merlin urged Jim.   
The others gathered around Jim as he said the incantation. "For the glory of, well, you, Daylight is mine to command!" As soon as Jim's armor was in place a wall of water burst into the cave. He summoned his shield and pressed it forward, bracing himself. The water split against the shield as s barrier extended from it, protecting Jim and his friends from the torrent.   
Jim noticed a weakening point in the cavern wall and adjusted the angle of his shield so the water was deflected against it. With an almighty crack, the wall split. The water rushed out and they were all free.  
"Awesome-sauce!" Toby yelled. "Jimbo created a new exit!" The group followed Toby as he ran out of the cave.

Merlin stretched in the fresh air for the first time in 500 years. "Oh that's good," he said. "I haven't felt wind on my face since the battle of Killahead."  
"You were there?" Asked Claire, leaning forward with the grip of her collapsed staff gripped against her chest.  
"Yes," he said turning full circle and picking up a rock. He threw the rock as far as he could. Then, with a wave of the staff, he called it back to his hand. "That'll take some getting used to."  
"Excuse me dear fellow," said Blinky, waving two of his arms towards Merlin and one towards Aaarrrgghh. "But we were present at that particular battle and I do not recall you being there."  
"Me neither," Aaarrrgghh agreed.  
"I was," Merlin said, throwing the stone again. "Arthur would've called me a coward as I wasn't part of the main battle. A different battle was going on behind the scenes." Twirling his staff Merlin attempted something. The others weren't sure what. There was a spark but nothing more.  
"What are you doing?" Toby asked, taking a cautious step towards the wizard.  
"Hmm?" Merlin said, lowering his staff from his third attempt. "I'm trying to open s window to the past. But I don't currently have access to all of my magic. Which is very weird, as I was born with it. Hard to adapt to only really having what the staff contains. But I will." He jabbed the staff forwards and it sparked. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and a green rimmed portal appeared. "Gather around everyone, I can't keep it open for long."   
Toby pushed forward between Jim and Claire. Jim laughed as his friend nearly knocked him over. Aaarrrgghh and Blinky huddled in behind the three humans.  
"Can everyone see?" Merlin asked. He got varying response all pertaining to yes. "Alright so here's the main battle." Merlin pointed to the bridge in the window.  
"The great Deya herself!" Blinky exclaimed.   
"Look Blinky," said Claire pointing a little further from the bridge. "There's you!" Toby and Jim laughed at the sight of Blinky running from a group of goblins. Present Blinky grumbled.  
"This battle was important," Merlin said, waving his hand. When nothing happened he grit his teeth and waved the staff instead. The image shifted to show Merlin facing off against a dark haired woman with a golden headdress on. "This one was probably more so. I used as much of my magic as I could to seal her away."  
"Morgana," Claire growled.  
"Yes," Merlin agreed, lowering his gaze from the image. "My biggest regret."  
"Because she was your student?" Asked Jim.  
Merlin laughed. "My student?" He said. "I barely knew magi incantations myself back when I made the one mistake that ruined everything. No, she was never my student." Merlin lowered his staff and the window closed with a pop. "But she was scared and confused and I could have helped her. I should have helped her."  
"Don't beat yourself up Merl," Toby said, going to thumb the wizard on the shoulder supportively but he changed his mind. "People make their own decisions and you can't change the past."  
Merlin gasped out an unexpected laugh. "Merl?"  
"Can I call you Merl?"  
"By all means, now shall we get back to," Merlin paused realising he didn't actually know where they needed to go. Instead he said, "Saving the world."


	3. Rescuing Draal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin helps the Trollhunters get Draal out of the caverns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't part of my original plan but here it is.

Jim didn't follow his friends as they started to walk off. He stared back into the cavern they had left. "We can save him!" The trollhunter suddenly yelled.  
The wizard turned towards Jim. "Come again?" He asked. "Save who?"  
"Creeper Sun," Toby whispered. "We can cure creeper sun poison!" He yelled as he dan towards Jim.  
"Master Jim I am afraid the fall may have, well, shattered Draal," Blinky pointed out steepling his upper hands and spreading his lower ones.  
"Won't know till look," Aaarrrgghh pointed out.  
"Would he still be an emotional anchor?" Claire asked, waving her staff.  
"It wouldn't matter if he could," Merlin said, waving his own staff towards the cavern. "The whole cavern is warded against magic."  
"What about you?" Jim asked, turning towards the sorcerer. "You could do magic in there."  
"I suppose I could try," Merlin said, tugging on a red bandana he had tied around his neck. "I don't know any spell for retrieving the remains of a troll but my magic has always been instinctual anyway." Merlin pointed his staff and his eyes flashed gold. There was a rumble but not much else. Jim's head dropped. Merlin grit his teeth. His eyes flashed again.  
With a great crash a large lump of rock flew out of the cavern and landed softly at Merlin's feet. "Is this your poisoned friend?" The wizard asked.  
"Draal!" Jim yelled jumping forwards and hugging the statue that was once his friend. "Will we get him on the gyre?"  
Aaarrrgghh groaned. "Hate gyre."

The ride back to Arcadia was not fun. Jim was pressed between Aaarrrgghh and Draal with a perfect view of nothing but the back of Toby's head. Toby shifted and Jim saw that Claire was uncomfortablely close to Merlin, who Jim realised, was dressed in a weird assortment of armor and old fashioned clothes. He wore a worn pair of leather boots with more buckles than he thought would be practical for anything, plain trousers that Jim guessed were probably cotton, a chainmail tunic (Jim was sure there was a name for that bug he couldn't think if it) and that red bandana he had noticed earlier.  
Blinky operated thd gyre with, what Jim assumed, was practiced ease. Although, nothing about the gyre seemed easy.  
With a screech of metal on stone, they stopped in the sewers somewhere beneath Arcadia. Aaarrrgghh pushed himself out of the gyre first with a grumbled "Hate gyre."  
Toby wasn't far behind. The boy was hugging himself and saying "I'm with you wingman."  
"That is an exhilarating way to travel," Merlin said. "It somewhat reminds me of riding Khilgarrah."  
"Kilgarrah?" Jim repeated, stumbling a little over the unfamiliar name.  
"He was a dragon I once knew."  
"Oh," Jim said, deciding not to ask. He wasn't really ready to know that dragons were real.  
"I do believe we have some ingredients to gather post hast," Blinky said urgently, gesture to the statue still sat in the back of the gyre.  
"Got Draal," said Aaarrrgghh as he grabbed the stone troll. "Others gather ingredients."  
"Yes my friend, we shall do that," Blinky agreed. "The hardest to get will most likely be the fragment of Heartstone."  
"I used to gather ingredients for Gaius back in Camelot," Merlin piped up. "What do you need?  
"What was it again?" Claire asked, turning to Jim.  
"Don't ask me," he said, holding his hands up. "I was in the Darklands, remember?"  
"All I know is I had to cry," Toby said.  
"Let me think," Blinky said, resting one of his upper hand on his chin and waving thd other three around vaguely. "There was the fragment of heartstone, the tears of those who have not received the first kiss of love, a live mouse." Blinky paused counting the ingredients he had listed on his fingers. "Darn this infernally imperfect memory of mine!" He yelled pressing all four of his hands to his forehead.  
"Sour milk!" Toby yelled with one hand raised as he jumped.  
Jim stood and watched his friends try to remember thd ingredients involved in the cure.  
Claire suddenly yelled "Gnome skeleton." She paused and fiddled with one of her hair clips. "Pepper?"  
"Fair Claire," Blinky said. "I believe you are correct. There were two other ingredients, I am more than certain. Silver perhaps?"  
"Do any of these ingredients specify amounts?" Merlin asked, genuinely concerned that this potion seemed to be made of random amounts of random items.  
"Only the silver and worm root," Blinky explained. He then realised what he said and spread all four of his arms in surprise. "A twig of worm root and an ounce of silver! We have it!"  
"So where can we get these things?" Jim asked, rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.  
"They shouldn't be too hard to locate," Blinky explained before going into detail of where they could find the ingredients they needed. Aaarrrgghh volunteered to get the heartstone and the rest of them split into small teams to gather the remaining ingredients.


End file.
